I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords-Chapter 28 - 0. Caught Off Guard_1
Chapter 28: 028. Caught Off Guard_1
Chapter 28: 028. Caught Off Guard_1
There’s a saying that when human beings experience the extreme of terror, they are unable to let out a scream. Being able to scream means that the pressure can be released; it allows for a shift of focus that can alleviate the terror to some extent.
Therefore, many horror thriller films have scenes where the protagonist hides and suppresses their own voice. In such situations, when the pressure cannot be released, the psychological terror deepens.
Qin Tiantian was just like that.
Seeing Lu Ban in the mirror showing her a creepy smile, her whole body suddenly froze; she couldn’t even tremble, only feeling goosebumps rising from her lower back up her spine, like a fishbone stuck in her throat, unable to make any sound.
Qin Tiantian had met Lu Ban in person, and although they weren’t very familiar, she was certain that Lu Ban himself would never show such a smile.
Or rather, no living person would smile like that.
The audience in the live stream was also startled, as evidenced by the barrage of comments that usually occupied two-thirds of the screen suddenly freezing as though the system had malfunctioned.
Clang—
Crash—
It wasn’t until Lu Ban smashed the glass with a crowbar that Qin Tiantian and the barrage audience were snapped back to reality by the noise.
People used to say that one could be scared stiff, and Qin Tiantian felt that she might have truly experienced just that. When faced with an extreme stimulus, the human brain sometimes freezes or keeps repeating some instinctive behavior.
If it weren’t for Lu Ban smashing the mirror and diverting Qin Tiantian’s attention, she might have needed a good while longer to recover.
“There seemed to be something in the mirror just now, but it’s not visible anymore, let’s continue moving forward,” Lu Ban’s voice rang out, giving Qin Tiantian an inexplicable sense of comfort.
[Damn, it must have been UP himself smiling just now, trying to mystify things!]
[Motherf****r, how can someone smile so creepily from the netherworld?]
[I remember now, this UP is the one who did the heart rate counting last time, right? Definitely loves doing these netherworldly things.]
[This method of scaring people, those from this world really can’t do it!]
[F***, f***, f***, I was almost sent packing, I have to go scold this UP.]
[Is Chuanbao okay? Why is there no sound?]
Qin Tiantian watched as Lu Ban walked toward an even deeper, darker corridor. To relieve a bit of her fear, she glanced at the barrage.
“I-I’m still here, what—what the heck, it’s not scary at all, nobody would really find this video scary, right?” she said, trying to act strong, unaware that her own voice was already trembling.
By the time Qin Tiantian finished speaking, Lu Ban had reached the control room at the end of the corridor.
After a brief introduction, Lu Ban didn’t waste words and entered the control room, where he saw the dilapidated stage.
The camera zoomed in slightly, capturing the piano on the stage.
Just then, a sound of piano music struck Qin Tiantian’s heartstrings.
She shivered suddenly, a tingling sensation on her scalp, much like the trembling relief experienced after holding one’s urine for the entire runtime of “Once Upon a Time in America” and then enduring a ten-minute anxious wait at the bathroom door before finally being able to release it.
Qin Tiantian found her hand shaking uncontrollably, unable to be suppressed.
She could only grab the shark plush pillow beside her and, holding her pillow, seemed to feel a bit calmer. Qin Tiantian began to ponder.
There was no one by the piano and Lu Ban had just arrived, so where was the sound coming from?
“Could it be a small animal?”
Qin Tiantian offered herself a forced explanation, although the camera clearly showed that there was no small animal on the piano.
It was impossible to admit that it could be something else, right?
The audience, shocked by the sound of the piano, hadn’t had the chance to spew curses in the barrage at Lu Ban, when they saw the camera shake, accompanied by the sound of snapping and shattering.
“Shit… I almost fell down,” Lu Ban checked the ground, where he had just stepped into a hole.
Compared to what was just witnessed, the common dangers encountered during a normal exploration became mundane.
Just as everyone was breathing a sigh of relief, the flashlight lit up as the perspective turned, casting light on what was behind Lu Ban.
A mannequin with strange eyes suddenly appeared in the center of the frame.
“!!!”
Qin Tiantian managed to let out a scream this time, though it was short-lived because as she desperately tried to back away from the screen, she tumbled off the gaming chair.
Thud—
A muffled sound arose from the cushion below; fortunately, her chair was next to the bed, so she didn’t hit anything.
In the footage, Lu Ban even took a closer look at the mannequin before leaving the surveillance room.
Qin Tiantian didn’t bother sitting back down; instead, she hugged a pillow on the bed, continuing to watch the video from a slightly farther distance as if that would make it less terrifying.
In the later part of the video, Lu Ban edited out the part where he had returned to the lobby from the corridor.
“It’s completely dark now…”
Lu Ban’s flashlight shone on the vacant ceiling and swept across other areas of the theater’s lobby.
Peering through her fingers, Qin Tiantian watched Lu Ban’s actions, only to see that in the control room on the other side of the stage, those mannequins with eerie eyes were standing by the window, staring at the viewer.
“Wow!”
She couldn’t bear to look anymore and quickly buried her face in her knees.
Lu Ban’s commentary continued in the background, saying that the control room opposite was empty, but Qin Tiantian couldn’t care less.
However, after about ten seconds, she lifted her head when she heard a strange noise in the video.
Qin Tian saw that Lu Ban had started eating self-heating rice in the spooky and haunted Jiangcheng Grand Theater.
“???”
Wasn’t this supposed to be a tense and dangerous exploration video?
How did it turn into wilderness food vlogging?
And it seemed… quite appetizing.
In the middle of the night, after being scared several times already, Qin Tiantian couldn’t help but swallow her saliva as she watched Lu Ban devouring rice mixed with saucy tomato beef brisket, eating with relish.
[This UP is taking revenge on society!]
[If I’m wrong, please have the police punish me instead of making me watch this kind of late-night food vlog]
[Got it, so this is actually a food vlog, completely unexpected]
[Wait a minute, what about the thing in the mirror? Were the mannequins just now not an issue anymore because we moved on to eating?]
[Can’t deny it looks delicious; I’m already searching for takeout]
[Disperse, disperse, the next nine minutes are all about food vlogging, this is a gourmet video!]
“It does look rather tasty.”
By this time, Qin Tiantian had calmed down a bit and moved closer, still holding a large shark plushie in her arms.
The eating segment lasted for about a minute and a half, after which Lu Ban tidied up and picked up the flashlight to scan the surroundings again.
The oval beam of light fell on the abandoned second floor, the stage, and then the control room opposite the stage.
In the previously empty control room, there now stood several figures with strange eyes.
“!!!”
Qin Tiantian ducked for cover, head in hands.
Yet driven by curiosity, she glanced back at the computer screen.
“There is definitely something strange here.”
Lu Ban’s camera lingered on those mannequins for a moment before moving elsewhere.
In the fleeting moment, Qin Tiantian clearly saw a woman in a red dress standing by the emergency exit on one side of the stage!
“Damn it, I’m scared!”
Qin Tiantian couldn’t help but swear.
*
New novel 𝓬hapters are published on freёwebnoѵel.com.
Thank you everyone for your favorites, monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, rewards, and support!
Please vote plus!!
